Open ended spinning machines of the type having a bowl-shaped rotor or spinning chamber are common in the art. Yarn is produced by spinning the rotor at a high rotational velocity, typically about 15,000 rpm, and supplying fibers to the interior of the rotor.
Owing to the high rotational speeds used, it is necessary to maintain the rotor interior at a subatmospheric pressure for proper operation. This is usually accomplished by enclosing the rotor within a housing and connecting the housing to a suitable vacuum source. When, however, the bearing assembly used to receive the shaft supporting the rotor forms part of the enclosure surface, as is common, the partial vacuum created in the housing tends to draw air into the housing through the bearings themselves, causing the lubricants in the bearings to dry out prematurely, thus shortening the bearings' operating life.
I have invented an open-ended spinning spindle assembly which overcomes the problem in the prior art of loss of bearing lubricant. My assembly is simple in construction. My assembly may make up a part of the rotor housing of the spinning unit.